We don’t often write about ferries and transport infrastructure here, but this statement demands an exception.

Eurotunnel is not surprised at the position of the Competition Commission, but will challenge the provisional findings which conclude that the addition of the new operator, MyFerryLink, would be detrimental to competition and could lead to an increase in prices.

You see’s it’s the tone. Snark is our job. It’s not becoming of a listed entity that only exists because of the billions of tax payers £s poured into it.Read more

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

Joseph joined FT Alphaville way back in March 2010. He likes all the politically and legally fiddly bits of finance. He also likes credit, rates, global macro, tail risk, and all that stuff. (You should email him story ideas. He’ll take anything.)

Tracy Alloway used to be deputy editor of FT Alphaville. Here she learned the details of derivatives, the absurdities of accounting and the various structures of ... erm ... structured finance. She now covers big US banks for the FT paper, including Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley. She pops up on FT Alphaville every once in a while.

A competition probe into the banking industry is justified in the wake of the financial crisis, the chief of the official watchdog has said in comments signalling a potential post-election battle over the industry’s future, says the FT. The Competition Commission chairman said there was a “compelling logic” to arguments that the sector needed to be investigated to see whether the state bail-out and other emergency measures resulting from the financial crisis had distorted the market.

An interesting sideshow to Lloyds Banking Group’s ongoing wrestling match with the UK Treasury has been the debate over what slice of the proceeds investment bankers should get.

The Guardian on Wednesday, for example, reported that the £300m in underwriting fees to be shared by the six investment banks working on the Lloyds deal was slashed by£100m following some successful lobbying by the biggest activist investor of them all — the UK Treasury. Read more

ITV says it welcomes Tuesday’s provisional report from the Competition Commission and its recognition of the case for the reform of Contract Rights Renewal, the very complex mechanism which governs how much the broadcaster can charge advertisers. But is ITV really being honest? The answer has to be no.

First some background on the CRR, courtesy of the FT’s media correspondent, Ben Fenton: Read more